Cleaning
How To Remove And Prevent Nasty Mold In Grout
Ewwww who wants to see nasty mold building up on the tile grout in the bathroom? It can be one of the worst things to see in the home, and detrimental to our health. In this post, I’m going to help you to reclaim your sparkly and shiny bathroom by giving you some super tips to remove mold in grout.
Firstly let’s talk about why your bathroom is susceptible to mold .
Mold and mildew spores love damp areas and places where moisture sits. The bathroom is a perfect environment for mold and mildew to grow. They particularly like to cling to the surface of the grout because it’s rough in texture, porous and a perfect surface for the mold and mildew spores to cling to.
The surface of the grout itself is often missed when you wipe over a tiled surface in the bathroom as it is slightly recessed from the tiles.
Around the bathtub, showers and windows are particularly susceptible to mold growth if not enough ventilation is provided to these areas.
What is mildew?
Mildew is a whitish form of fungus .
What is mold?
Mold is a similar fungus to mildew but differs in colour. Mold can be red, black, blue, or green.
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How to remove mold from grout.
You will need
- Tile cleaner
- Grout brush or hard drill brush
- Gloves
- Mask
- Detergent
- Microfiber cloth
- Bleach
Time needed: 20 minutes
Wear protective clothing at all times as black mold spores can be dangerous to your health. Gloves and a mask are recommended to clean mold from grout.
- Clean the tiled area.
Clean the area as you would normally, using a tile cleaner or detergent and a microfiber cloth. Check out my homemade shower cleaner in this post!
Clean grout mold with a grout brush or a hard toothbrush. - Rinse well
Rinse the area well with warm water. It is important to remove any cleaning fluid residue before you start with the mold removal as we will be using a bleach solution in the next step and want to avoid mixing any chemicals together.
- Make a bleach solution.
Using a chlorine bleach, mix one-part bleach to four-parts water and place in a spray bottle.
- Spray the grout mold.
Using the bleach solution, cover the orange or black mold thoroughly.
- Leave the solution to have some dwell time
Leave the solution to dwell on the tile grout for approx 15 minutes, go and have a cuppa and read my post about homemaking skills you need to know!
- Rinse well.
Rinse well and dry all surfaces with a towel
How to clean mold from coloured grout
If you have coloured grout you will need to replace the bleach with baking soda. You can do this by mixing baking soda with water and applying over the grout, then spray with peroxide and scrub with a grout brush or hard toothbrush to remove mold from the grout.
You might find that there are still mold stains on the grout, and you may have to repeat the process.
How to prevent mold in your grout.
- Make sure there is plenty of ventilation in the shower by opening the shower door or curtain to help control the build-up of mold.
- .Open a window after each shower or bath, or every day for at least five minutes to change the air.
- Make sure towels and bath mats are hung up to dry after every use.
- Use the extractor fan if you have one.
- Dry all bathroom surfaces with an old towel after each bath or shower.
Frequently asked questions
All mold spores can be potentially dangerous if breathed in. It is important to remove mold from shower grout and bathroom grout as soon as it appears and to take precautions to prevent it from returning following the steps above.
Using the steps outlined above will help you to get rid of any orange mold.
